Older Women & Friends

Clare Beckton grew up "very poor." Her family lived in a three-room shack with no running water. What she understood early on was how power was wielded by her father, her brothers, and the men in the small farming community where she lived and how women got the short shaft. "I was a feminist at an early age," Clare said. "I knew that I wanted to make a difference."

There were no strong, self-assured female role models in Clare's...

"Anorexia of aging" may affect up to 18% of individuals 65+, more women than men.

Contrary to popular opinion, eating disorders (EDs) are not just a serious health condition for adolescents. Nope, older women, often during menopause, can develop an ED. If you struggled with an ED as a teen or earlier, your chances of sliding back increase.

Today's guest, Michele Mason (60), is ...

Melinda Blau is 81, but many of her dear friends are much older. These women populate her new book, The Wisdom Whisperers, and provide younger women (at 80, I must be a spring chicken!) with a playbook to draw from and relate to our own lives.

When Melinda wrote her sixteenth book, she wanted to title it, "I want what she has!" She was deeply moved and impressed by the older women, most of whom were in their 90s and 100s.

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Maybe you've seen the Showtime special, "Funny Women of A Certain Age" or "More Funny Women of A Certain Age," or -- you guessed it--even "More Women of A Certain Age." Today's guest, comedian Carole Montgomery, is the mover and shaker behind the shows and continues to tour with a stellar cast. Women show up in carloads, busloads, campers, and hoot and holler at the uninhibited, outrageous comedy about aging. No subject is off limi...

Wendy Alexander grew up under apartheid in South Africa. Until she was seven, she felt like most other kids. That changed the day the police insisted that she and her family get off a whites-only beach. "I was no longer a child," Wendy said. "Once you know racism and segregation, you know it."

Wendy's dream was to leave South Africa; while the dream was deferred, she and her family immigrated to Australia when Wendy was twenty. ...

"So the light went off in my five-year-old head, and I said there must be something in stories that we need. Stories are like air or water. So, I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a storyteller, a writer." _______ Shelley Fraser Mickle

While her route was circuitous, as most journeys are, Shelley became an award-winning author and the storyteller incarnate for six ...

“No Way Out of This: Living with a Partner with Alzheimer’s.”

Sue Lick’s husband was fourteen years older, but that didn’t seem to matter. Yes, she loved the Beatles; he listened to crooners. But they sang together, played music together, and shared a love of reading, travel, and so much more.

“I thought he’d live forever,” Sue said.

It was her husband Fred who first mentioned that his memory was slipping. Sue shrugged i...

“You inherit your genetic blueprint from your parents. But you construct the person that you become. Just because you have a birthday every year, your body need not age yearly.”

                            _________ Dr. Gillian Lockitch, medical specialist, professor, and interna...

Judith Horn was a geriatric physical therapist with decades of experience behind her, plus years as a specialist. The specialty is relatively new, but Judith saw the need to work with older patients whose needs differ greatly from others.

What is the value of seei...

What kinds of changes do you make after a serious health crisis? For Leonie-Ruth Acland the changes after suffering a stroke and taking a year to recover resulted in a recommitment to the mentoring and coaching of women and to her connection with nature on so many levels. Then at age 67, Leonie-Ruth was diagnosed with ADHD. Until then, she'd always wonde...

Are you a risk taker? Do you thrive on trying new things, new things that may take you out of your comfort zone?

Helen Hirsh Spence knows all about taking calculated risks. She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, among other peaks, reclaimed her life after a bout of depression, and worked in places like Bolivia, and Honduras. She believes in getting out of her comfort zone to "expand, reach, and learn." Oh, did I mention that she was a Jan...

What's so damn funny about death? Nothing, most folks would say. But not Gail Rubin, Thanatologist/Death Educator.

Let's face it: death is guaranteed 100 percent. It may be the "party that no event planner wants to plan." But don't include Gail among the party poopers.

How did Gail become a death educator? That's a long story but suffice it to say that Gail didn't wake up one morning and say, "I want to be the doyenne of dea...

From the outside, Eleanor Vincent's childhood appeared idyllic. But behind the veneer of a loving, supportive environment was a darker secret: her mother was depressed, Eleanor was abused, and both her parents were same-sex gays and bitterly unhappy. "Our job--my siblings' and mine -- was to protect our parents and not let their secret out." During a year when her father lived in New York to pursue acting, her mother had a female ...

Are you a grandparent who will spend time with your grandchildren, particularly around the holidays? If not, how will you share and engage with your grandchildren from a distance at any time of year?

There are 47 million grandparents in the United States, with an average age of 67. This may be a surprise: 71 percent of grandparents are still working. So, what can these grandparents do to nurture the relationship? How can...

"My favorite species is the human species." ----- Lucinda Sykes, retired MD

Did you know that new science links prescribed sleeping pills to an increase in your chances of dementia and Alzheimers?

Sleeping pills don't put you to sleep; they sedate the brain and prevent it from giving itself a power wash that gets rid of material ultimately connected to disease.

This episode's guest is Lucida Sykes, retired MD and current sleep...

Did you know that sometime between 2030 and 2035 it will be the first time in American history that more people will be 65+ than people 18 years and younger?

Crazy!

Today's guest, gerontologist Jeanette Leardi, is one of this podcast's favorite guests. We first talked in June 2003, and since then she has a new book out, Aging Sideways: Changing Our Perspectives on Getting Older.

Jeanette's story is fascinating. She bec...

How did your recent doctor's appointment go? Did you get the care you needed? Were all your questions answered? Did you feel as if you were a valued patient whose health mattered?

If you're like many patients--often older women--the answer to some of these questions is "No!". Everything was rushed. You were in and out too quickly—the time you spent jotting down questions before your appointment seemed like a waste. What was the...

What is the pelvic floor? Where is it located in the body? What does it do? What are the potential issues created by a weak pelvic floor?

You might be surprised to learn that millions of young and older women experience problems--many of them uncomfortable and embarrassing--with their pelvic floor.

Dr. Nabila Noor, a urogynecologist and physician specializing in pelvic floor problems, joins me in this informative episode. D...

Yep, we are all caught up in habitual ways of thinking and acting. We turn on our default programming to autopilot and more often than not talk to our boss, partner, or child the same way we have forever.

Ronnie Loaiza is a certified life coach and a certified habit coach. Who knew there was something called a habit coach? Ronnie explains that she helps people create doable habits that get them to their goals instead of temporar...